Supplier News
Philippines – Work to start on Mactan Leisure City in Cebu next January
By Phil - 30 August 2016
Sino America Gaming Investment Group, Macau Resources Group and Calata Corp will begin construction of Mactan Leisure City, an integrated resort and casino Mactan Island in Cebu, an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, in January 2017.
The P65bn Mactan Leisure City will have three hotels, including a seven-star hotel; a casino and entertainment complex; commercial, retail and conference facilities; and a yacht club.
The plan is to open the venue in the northern part of Mactan island by mid 2020.
The collaboration said in a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange: “Subject to the issuance of construction permits and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority approval, site works on the Mactan Leisure City is targeted to begin this January 2017. A license is expected to be secured by the end of 2017. The gaming license for the casino and entertainment complex shall be subject to compliance with PAGCOR policy, for which the company will be placed to meet these explicit requirements at the date of submission.”
The companies have already been given ‘letters of no objection and support’ from the governor of Cebu and the mayor of Lapu-lapu City, as is needed for casino projects outside of Entertainment City in Parañaque , meaning complete application will be lodged with PAGCOR by October 2017.
Sino and Macau Group will initially invest around P836.1m. The investment group from the United States and the gaming operator incorporated in the British Virgin Islands will invest P234m through Calata and the remaining P602.1m directly to the corporate vehicle 51 per cent owned by the Philippine-listed firm.
The filing added: “The formed corporation shall initially be used to acquire various real property which shall then be leased to developers and third parties. It is intended that this corporation shall eventually be transformed into a REIT. The parties intend to have the corporation formed on or before the month of September.
Thereafter, the parties shall pursue the corporation’s transformation into a REIT and execute such plan at the soonest practicable time.”
It added that the project will ‘generate tens of thousands of employment opportunities’ with annual GGR of about P55.74bn.
